Improvement in packing for condenser-tubes



J. W. MEAD. Packing for Condenser Tubes.

Patented Aug. 6, 1878.

gvlm s' SES A WE ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OEIJQE.

JOHN \V. MEAD, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO JOHNH. MEAD, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PACKING FOR CONDENSER-TUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 206,813, dated August6, 1978; application filed July 23, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN W. lVIEAD, of NewYork, in the county of New York and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Packing for (Jondenser-Tubes; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such. as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved packing for condenser-tubes, theobject being to provide a cheap and durable packing, and composed ofsuch material that after the packing has been driven home between thetube and the tube-sheet it will swell and make a perfectly tight joint;and to this end my invention consists in a packing for condensertubescomposed of layers of wood and paper secured together in any suitablemanner and wound or formed. into a ferrule or cylinder of the desiredsize and shape.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an edge view of the wood andpaper strips before being wound to the desired form. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section of the completed packing. Fig. 3 is a transversesection of the same, and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the packing.

A represents a thin strip or veneer of Wood, preferably bass wood,although other kinds may be employed. To the surface of the strip A issecured the paper strip B by means of a coating of glue or otheradhesive material. The combined wood and paper strip may be made of anydesired length, and then wound on a mandrel, the several layers beingfirmly secured together by a coating of glue or equivalent material, andwhen the tube or ferrule has been made up to the desired size one endthereof is turned off, as at G, to form a conical end, whereby thepacking may be readily inserted into the tube-sheet around the end of acondenser-tube.

Condenser-tube packing formed in this manner and of the material abovedescribed possesses manyvaluable advantages over any other forms ofpacking yet produced, for the followin g reasons: The packing when madeup of several layers of wood and paper possesses great strength, and isnot liable to split or splinter when driven into its place; second,owing to the fact that the packing is composed of two different kinds ofmaterial possessing different characteristics and having their fibersrunning in different direction s, the packing is not liable to becomecracked or injured by exposure to the varying changes of climate and theatmosphere; third, this form of packing insures a perfectly tight joint,as the wooden strip, while firm in texture, possesses the quality ofswelling and enlarging when exposed to water, and thus the joint betweenthe tube and tube-sheet is made perfectly tight by means of my improvedpacking.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Packing for condenser-tubes and like purposes consisting of a ferruleor cylinder formed of layers of wood and paper secured to each other inany desired manner, substantially as set forth.

2. A packing for condenser-tubes and equiv alent purposes consisting ofthin strips of wood and paper united by glue or equivalent material, andthe compound strips then formed into a tube or cylinder of the desiredsize, the several coils being secured to each other by an interposedcoating of glue or equivalent material, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this20th day of July, 1878.

JOHN \V. MEAD.

Witnesses:

(J. HERMANN, G. T. MAXWELL.

